The device describe herein came about because I found myself in a situation where I had a particle lodged between a tooth and a crown. In trying to dislodge the particle from between my teeth, I ended up loosening my crown and had to make a trip to the dentist to have it re-glued. With the proposed device, the user can easily remove debris that is trapped or lodged between the teeth without applying pressure to the adjacent teeth or crown itself and thus avoiding loosening the teeth (or crown). The current method for removing debris that is lodged between the teeth is usually accomplished by either of the following methods . . . manual flossing, a flossing type tool, a dental scaler, or a dental explorer. The problem with the current methods is that they all transfer unnecessary up and down, side to side pressure to the adjacent teeth or crown as pressure is being applied to the debris being dislodged, thus risking the chance of loosening the teeth (or crown).
The uniqueness and advantage of the present invention is that, when used in conjunction with floss that has been properly mounted on the tool and under the debris, it transfers all it's “plier-type” power only to the debris being removed while holding the adjacent teeth or crown firmly in place. This eliminates the risk of loosening the adjacent teeth or crown.
The following patents are considered generally representative of the current state of the dental flosser art: U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,769 issued Oct. 13, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,103 issued May 28, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,419 issued Apr. 2, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,556 issued Dec. 19, 2000.